


My Kingdom for a Snake

by Arabesqueangel, Rabentochter



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Feels, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Magical Tattoos, Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, Soulmates, Spirit Animals, Spirit Guides, Tattoos, Tony Stark Does What He Wants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22806136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arabesqueangel/pseuds/Arabesqueangel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/pseuds/Rabentochter
Summary: In all the Nine Realms, all intelligent beings receive a spirit animal. It does not appear as a babe is born. Babies are clean slates, showing nothing except potential. No, a spirit animal is called at a very specific moment in time. It may not be a pivotal moment in that person’s life; it may not even be a particularly big moment altogether, but each person has a moment like this. One that sets the shape for who they will be.Both Loki Odinson and Tony Stark are thrilled to receive their spirit animals. The rest of the worlds have their own opinions that Loki and Tony handle in very different ways. While Loki invades Earth, they find themselves on opposite sides, right up until they find out that they have more in common than they ever could have guessed!
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 144
Kudos: 546





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, it's soulmates again (I mostly blame Jaxonkreide <3) but hopefully the spirit animals portion of this little fic adds some interesting nuance to the AU! Rabentochter is responsible for the beautiful art that will be in several of the chapters as well as some awesome plot development!

In all the Nine Realms, all intelligent beings receive a spirit animal. It does not appear as a babe is born. Babies are clean slates, showing nothing except potential. No, a spirit animal is called at a very specific moment in time. It may not be a pivotal moment in that person’s life; it may not even be a particularly big moment altogether, but each person has a moment like this. One that sets the shape for who they will be. 

Prince Loki Odinson’s moment comes when he is very young. He has just started receiving magic lessons from his mother. He has finally gotten the ball of light to appear in his hand when he is distracted by a flash of green to his right. The ball flickers and goes out as he turns his head and sees a small, whiplike snake in a deep emerald green making his way over to him. The snake makes his way smoothly to Loki’s foot only to appear to be content just resting his head on Loki’s shoe, making the boy giggle. 

“Loki,” Frigga chastises. 

Loki realizes then that the snake is probably an illusion of Frigga’s that she conjured to test his attention. Obviously, he failed. 

“Sorry, mother. The snake did distract me,” Loki says solemnly, head down in shame. 

“What snake, darling?” His mother asks, looking around. 

That’s when Loki realizes that this snake is no mere beast nor illusion, it’s his spirit animal. No one but he and his soulmate will be able to see or interact with it as a living being. Instead they will all see it as an unmoving tattoo somewhere on his skin. Since Loki is clothed from wrist to toe, unless his tattoo is on his face, which would be unfortunate, his mother cannot see it. Loki jumps up for joy before all too quickly realizing that his new spirit animal had been resting on his foot. Yet, the snake merely bobs its head peacefully at Loki. The boy doesn’t know how he knows, but he believes that the snake is amused. It very deftly runs up his trousers and torso to settle itself in a wide loop around his neck and tickle Loki’s ear with its tongue, making him giggle again. When he explains what had happened to his mother, Frigga’s smile shines like the sun and she rubs her left foot on her right ankle where Loki knows a white cat is pictured. 

As soon as Loki arrives at his rooms he tears his clothing off to see his tattoo, the one that others will see when they look at him, the one his own animal will meld with when traveling with him. He grins to see the bright green form wound around his right upper arm, the snake biting its own tail. He promptly tears the sleeve off the tunic he is to wear to dinner that night, planning to do the same to all his tunics from now on. He will show off his animal with pride.

When Loki shows his elder brother Thor at dinner that night, he is unabashedly jealous. Not only has Loki gotten his spirit animal before Thor but, Loki’s wis a snake and Thor loves snakes. Loki is fairly sure he will never be happier in his whole life than he is at this moment. Thor has never, ever been jealous of him before; why would he? He is the golden, elder prince, the apple of Odin’s eye, but for this one shining moment, Loki is the one to be envied.

Soon enough, of course, Thor receives his own spirit. A golden eagle who appears to him after he fells his first Bilgesnipe the next year. To Loki, it is a gorgeous tattoo on Thor’s back, the eagle’s wings spread proudly to touch both shoulders. Loki congratulates his brother, genuinely happy for the boy. He only rolls his eyes a little when Thor claims that the eagle is his favorite animal ever and is the best spirit animal one could have. Thor’s just excited.

Life, as it so often does, encroaches all too soon on Loki’s childish happiness. The snake he adores, his constant companion in both tricks and studies, is not well regarded on Asgard; a reptile is not an honorable beast. Loki himself is seen as the spirit animal he was given, slippery and cowardly with a forked tongue filled with guile. When Loki begins to be trained alongside his brother to serve as his advisor, Odin commands that Loki cease wearing tunics that showed off his tattoo. 

Loki isn’t proud of how he stalked out of the room in anger. He is ashamed at the tears that run down his face, despite how Jörmungandr tries to comfort him, rubbing his head along Loki’s cheek and licking at the drops. He is embarrassed by how much he wants to let Thor in as his brother knocks and begs entrance every hour afterwards. He is sure he will regret denying his mother entrance as well. Still, he stays put in his rooms all evening, wrestling with his emotions. 

The next day Loki presents himself in the throne room exactly on time. Every inch of skin but his face and his hands, which he needed free for his magic, is covered. All traces of emotion have been washed from his face. His snake, his Jörmungandr, melded with his tattoo when he had ignored all further attempts at communication with the animal. He would be the perfect, dutiful prince. He would earn his father’s respect and the people’s admiration, even if he had to give up a part of his soul to do it. 

*************

Anthony Edward Stark gets his spirit animal just after he finishes his first circuit board, at the age of four. His mother coos at him for being a prodigy; his dad scoffs at his messy solder-work; but all Tony cares about is the clever black bird who immediately perches on his knee and looks at his board from all angles as if he is trying to figure it out, just like Tony always did. 

It isn’t until much later that Tony learns that his raven, Roäc, is not seen too fondly. Unlike the awesome ravens in The Hobbit, the leader of which being his raven’s namesake, they’re mostly associated with bad luck and death. Tony’s not quite sure why; sure, they eat already dead things, but didn’t humans too? And yeah, they have black feathers, but it’s such a beautiful, glossy black that it’s almost as much blue and purple as anything else. And while Tony has more than his fair share of bad luck, he knows he can chalk that up to just being Tony Stark. Ever since his first circuit board, Roäc has had a keen eye for pointing out just where Tony’s issues are and what can be tweaked to make an invention perfect. Roäc is his first friend, and his only friend, up until the raven helps him create DUM-E. Tony doesn’t care what other people say, ravens, especially  _ his  _ raven, are awesome.

Howard Stark very much cares what other people say. He scowls every time Tony wears a sleeveless tee around the house, his raven’s head peeking above the neckline, just under Tony’s collarbone. He forbids Tony to show it off in public; which, of course, means that Tony wears v-necks every chance he gets just to spite the old man. 

When his parents die and Tony takes over the company, people start openly agreeing with him about how perfect his animal is for him. Of course, they don’t mean for it’s cleverness or sense of fun. No, Tony’s the Merchant of Death so what better animal to guide him. So, Tony just claims it all as his own; the title’s pretty cool, why not just go with it? 

People speculate as to what kind of soulmate Tony could possibly have with a spirit animal like that? Tony waves off the comment. Worrying about soulmates was for chumps; he had all he needed. People shout at him, calling him a one man murder. Of course, Tony always corrects them that a murder is a group of crows, not ravens, with a big smile on his face. Tony still shows off his tattoo and shuts out all the hate, perfectly happy with his own little flock, just him, DUM-E and Roäc. The only unkindness and conspiracy he’s ever dealt with is outside of his own little family. 


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first two scenes were Sesil's suggestions and I love how they add to the story! 
> 
> Also, more art!!!!

Loki waves away the servant as he gets out of the baths. It’s suspicious, he knows, this is such an important day. He just really can’t stand to be anything but alone right now. He stares at his ceremonial armor, all polished and laid out for the big day. Today, everything was going to change, and not in the way Thor expected. 

Loki’s stomach rolls, but he forcibly calms himself and concentrates on getting his undergarments on. His hands are shaking, making the process that much more difficult, making Loki wish he had help, but it’s further proof that he couldn’t risk anyone around him noticing something. He is doing this for the good of Asgard; for Thor’s own good too, in the long run. Yes, and it’s definitely not in the least bit in your self interest, a voice hisses in his head. He suspects that voice is what Jörmungandr would sound like if he could talk. Of course, nowadays he doesn't even move; he just stays a lifeless tattoo that Loki tries to forget he even has.

Despair washes over Loki and, for a moment, he is choked with it. He sits down on a stool and puts his head in his hands. He can almost feel the smooth slide of scales on his arm, once the most comforting feeling in the world. Then he realizes that it isn’t a daydream, he can actually feel the slide against his arm and looks up in shock. Jörmungandr is staring at Loki with that solemn face of his. Loki reaches out his other hand, but the snake pulls away a bit. Loki almost sobs, but manages to hold it back.

“I have to, Jörmungandr. Surely you’ve seen what Thor’s like. He’s not ready. I’ve tried to convince Mother; I’ve begged Father. No one will listen to me. They just think I’m jealous.” The snake just stares at him knowingly. “Fine, yes, I’m jealous, but that doesn't mean I’m wrong.” 

Jörmungandr just shakes his head sadly. 

“Well, what do you know?” Loki hisses. “It’s not as if you've been there! If you’re not going to help just go away. I’ll handle this myself and then we’ll see who’s right.” 

Loki can feel the warmth dissipating as Jörmungandr's small weight leaves his arm. Furiously he tugs on his tunic. Before he can think too much more, he just clothes himself the rest of the way via magic and stalks out the door. He’ll show Jörmungandr; he’ll show Father; he’ll show all of Asgard. Thor would not be crowned king today and everyone would see. 

***********

Tony bites his lip as he reads through the most recent lines of code one more time. Roäc caws, particularly loudly since the bird is perched on Tony’s shoulder. Tony glares, but the bird just rolls his eyes. It amuses Tony to no end that the bird can do that. 

“Yeah, so?” Tony asks. 

Roäc leans over and indicates a particular section of code, not the one Tony is currently reviewing. Tony is about to chide him for the distraction when Tony catches the error.

“Right as usual,” Tony admits, typing in the correction. 

The raven chitters in what is unmistakably smug laughter. 

“Yeah, yeah, well at least I have thumbs?” Tony mocks, waving his fingers at the bird. 

Roäc shows exactly what he thinks about that by bending forward again and nipping one of them hard.

“Ouch,” Tony pouts. The raven is unmoved. “Ok, fine. I deserved that. No more mocking the digitally-impaired.”

Tony finishes reading through everything, before sitting back in his chair. 

“I think that’s it; shit, is that really it? You wanna test it, buddy?”

Roäc caws his affirmative. Tony takes a breath, trying to ease the anxiousness and excitement that is bubbling up inside him. The familiar feel of the raven’s claws grounds the inventor further. Tony presses Enter. 

“Hello sir, my name is JARVIS. How can I assist you today?” The familiar english accent fills the lab. 

Tony laughs. There was no other way to let out the joy he’s feeling. He actually did it! They did it! Jury is still out on how effective JARVIS will be. The AI needs time to learn and develop, but there he is. Their little flock has increased by one.

**********

Loki stalks around the cage the mortals have put him in as if he isn’t exactly where he wants to be. Internally, though, he is completely calm, just waiting for Fury’s methods of persuasion. He doesn’t know what Fury’s spirit animal is, according to Barton no one at SHIELD does, so there’s no information to be had there. However, the person Fury sends instead, well, there’s no mistaking her animal.

The Black Widow is not only right there, high on her neck, she took the name as her own. Hawkeye had done the same, though his hawk was far more easily concealed, perched on his left shoulder as it was. It was very interesting how much you could tell about a person not just from what their spirit animal was, but how they claimed it. Loki didn’t display his tattoo, not anymore, but nothing about his clothing implied that he was actively hiding it either. Many people’s tattoos were in spots that were normally clothed. For example, Barton had told him that the captain’s labrador tattoo was etched across his ribs. 

No one could tell that not a single soul had seen Loki’s mark for centuries. Even Loki had avoided looking upon it himself, ever since it became the only sign of Jörmungandr he had left. He knows that he hasn’t exactly been worthy of his spirit animal for a very long time, but Loki misses his snake fiercely. His loss is like a limb, it aches with the same constance. Yet, what was it all for? He tore out a piece of himself and it still wasn’t enough. He was never going to be accepted; a frost giant foundling was never going to be anything in the golden city.

When Loki was plucked from the Void by the Other, before they started in on their own persuasion, Loki tried to reconnect with Jörmungandr, apologize for everything, but the ink stayed as lifeless as any common tattoo. Still, it was probably for the better. He knew that the snake wouldn’t approve of this course any more than he did of Loki’s previous choices. Midgard was a poor consolation prize for Asgard, but the power of the infinity stones, whether they be in his hands or his ally’s was to be determined, now that was something to be acknowledged. If he couldn’t earn Odin’s respect, he’d settle for fear. 

Of course, to get there, he needs this plan to work out. He’ll take down these heroes, release Thanos’s army upon this world and if Thanos and The Other do what they promised, he will play nicely. If they show even a hint of betraying him, beyond the annoyance of their spying and threats, well, he is the one with the Infinity Stones. 

Perhaps Loki should be paying a bit more attention to his conversation with the Widow. If Barton had taught him anything about the Midgardians it was that they were surprisingly adept. He is too in his head, too concerned about gloating to realize what he lets slip loose until the woman takes off her mask. Damn it, bitten by the spider. Good thing his hawk is nearly here. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This art and more can be found at Rabentochter's [ tumblr](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/610946587616739328/art-for-the-second-chapter-of-my-kingdom-for-a)


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More story! More art! Actual Loki and Tony interaction! Who's excited?

As soon as Tony lands at the tower and gets out of the suit, Roäc bursts from his tattoo. Tony sighs with relief; he could swear that he had been able to feel the raven’s anxiety beneath his skin. The bird flies ahead of Tony, going straight inside. Tony’s not concerned; Roäc is only corporeal to him and his soulmate, so even if Loki could see the raven, he couldn’t hurt him. Knowing that image is everything, especially in a stall tactic, Tony takes his time, sauntering inside.

As soon as Tony enters the building, Roäc lands on his shoulder, nuzzling the side of his head comfortingly. Tony heads over to the bar to make a drink, his eyes on Loki. The god’s been eerily silent thus far, staring at him blankly. 

“I was kind of expecting some sort of villain speech here. I mean you really set the bar in Stuttgart with the whole ‘bow before me mortals’ schtick. Don’t let me down now, Maleficent.” 

Rather than letting his temper flare and rising to the bait, Loki’s MO up til now, the god just stares at Tony. So Tony shrugs and just stares back, but when he tries to make eye contact he realizes that Loki isn’t staring at him. No, he’s staring at Tony’s left shoulder, at Roäc. 

Tony looks at his raven for a moment and then back at Loki. The god’s eyes widen as he realizes that Tony knows what he’s looking at. Still, the guy is tricky and he can do what everyone else is calling magic and Tony is for now acknowledging as science he doesn’t understand… yet. Asgardian ‘magic’ could have come up with a way to see spirit animals and Loki’s using this as a trick. Tony looks back at Roäc again. The bird looks cautious, but not hostile. He nods at Tony and takes off into the air to circle around Loki.

The gods eyes follow the bird, his face in an expression that Tony can only call awe. It looks odd on a face that he’s only seen look superior and angry. After a couple of circles, Roäc lands once again on Tony’s shoulder and shakes his head. Ok, no sign of Loki’s spirit animal. Tony’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, Tony would really rather not be soulmates with an evil, crazy alien, hotness aside. On the other hand, a soulmate would have a lot of leverage here. So how to play this?

“You can see him, right?” Tony just decides to go for it, head on.

“Your raven? Yes, he’s stunning.” Loki says softly.

That gives Tony a pause. That reaction to his spirit animal is definitely a first. Roäc preens and in a particularly startling move, flies from Tony’s shoulder to Loki’s. The god seems just as surprised. He reaches out a hand to stroke the raven’s feathers, but seemingly thinks better of it and pulls back in the last second. Roäc croons mournfully; he’s such an attention whore. Still, Loki turns to Tony. The look on his face is complicated to say the least. It’s hopeful, despairing, questioning, all just too much for Tony to really process.

Trying not to overthink it, Tony nods his permission. Loki’s hand moves immediately back towards the bird, but the fingers he presses to Roäc’s neck are soft and infinitely gentle. The bird pushes into the touch, forcing Loki’s fingers deeper into his feathers so Loki can scratch at his neck. Loki grins and does as demanded. Tony’s breath goes out if him at the sight. Not only does Loki’s grin make him look like a completely different person, Tony really underestimated the emotional impact of seeing someone interact with his animal. Up until now, Roäc has been his and his alone, a very extension of who he is. Having Loki pet the raven, well, it actually feels more intimate than any sex Tony has ever had. 

Part of Tony just wants to walk forward, be more a part of this moment. Forget everything that’s happening outside of this room and bask in this once in a lifetime event. Then a dread comes upon him that has nothing to do with the fact that the man he suddenly wants to get close to is waging war against his world, though that would be the rational reaction. No, there is a sudden, burning question that Tony’s almost too afraid to ask. Where’s Loki’s animal?

“I’m guessing, based on your reaction, that this isn’t an everyday thing for you?” Tony asks instead. Loki looks at him in confusion. “I mean, you haven’t magic-ed your way into being able to interact with people’s spirit animals without being soulmates, right?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Loki says cautiously.

Yeah, Tony was afraid of that too. He really doesn’t want to ask the question. Loki, it seems, takes Tony’s reaction a different way.

“I’m sorry; I’m probably the last person you’d wish… I can't say this isn’t complicated. I don’t know what I should… “ The god looks completely wrecked. For the first time since he showed up, Shakespeare-level prose isn’t falling easily from his lips. “For what it’s worth, whatever happens, thank you for this.” 

Loki looks adoringly at Roäc when he says it, scratching the top of the raven’s head before pulling away. Roäc cocks his head in confusion and hops closer on Loki’s shoulder, nuzzling his cheek. Loki huffs a little laugh but there are tears in his eyes threatening to break Tony’s heart, arc reactor be damned. 

<center></center>

“Why can’t I see yours?” Tony asks finally, ignoring the implications of Loki’s words. He can’t really address those right now. He doesn’t want to. Tony has no idea what is going to happen. All he knows is that he needs to find out the answer.

The tears spill from Loki’s eyes then and he shrugs his right shoulder, the one Roäc isn’t currently on. “I can’t see him either. He won't manifest for me anymore. He hasn’t but once in the last several centuries.”

Oh, is all that comes to mind at first. Well, fuck, no wonder Loki’s a bag of cats. Centuries, hundreds of years without your spirit animal. The one who is supposed to be your companion, your confidant, your guide. Even his darkest hours, even Afghanistan, was just that much more bearable for Tony with Roäc was around; he couldn’t imagine going through something like that without the raven. If Loki was missing that, it doesn’t surprise Tony that he would go off the deep end, even if Tony doesn't know everything that’s happened in the god’s life. Thor hasn’t told them much of anything about Loki except that he is now beyond reason, but the affection, the loss in Thor’s voice tells Tony it wasn’t always that way; something must have happened. 

“I’m so sorry, Loki. That’s terrible,” Tony says honestly. He moves forward and puts a hand on Loki’s arm, trying to be comforting. 

Loki flinches away, and he must see the hurt on Tony’s face because he reaches out a hand himself to keep Tony from moving to far back.

“No! Thank you, really, it’s just…” Loki appears to give up on words, he grabs his right sleeve with his left hand, startling Roäc into flapping off to settle once again on Tony’s shoulder. Once Loki has a hold of his sleeve he tears it off in a smooth movement. Considering how heavy the leather armor was, it says a lot for Loki’s strength. Tony feels simultaneously scared and aroused, unfortunately, not an unusual occurrence for him. See Pepper Potts, Natasha Romanov and any other number of bad ideas. 

But… Loki is Tony’s soulmate. Despite Tony not having seen Loki’s animal, he’s pretty sure of that. He feels it, even as he feels a sense of loss, a bond not quite fulfilled, likely due to Loki’s animal not being there. So, if Loki is Tony’s soulmate, he can’t be a bad idea right? That’s the universe saying that Loki is its idea of Tony’s perfect person. Tony’s just going to have to put in the effort to help Loki get to a good place. Oh, and to not invade Earth. That one might need to happen sooner rather than later.

Tony’s drawn out of his thoughts by Roäc moving once again. He perched on Loki’s right shoulder this time, leaning down to look more closely at the tattoo on Loki’s upper arm. It’s a thin green snake, wrapped all around the arm until it’s eating its tail. It’s so perfect that Tony wants to grin, but Roäc bends down to tap at the lifeless tattoo and Loki’s eyes well up and it’s definitely not the time.

“He’s perfect,” Tony says. Loki looks up quickly at Tony, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Yeah, Tony knows that look. It’s the same he knows he’s worn when he’s been told Roäc suits him for all the wrong reasons. “He’s absolutely adorable. I just want to cuddle him,” Tony clarifies.

Loki laughs then, and looks back down at his tattoo fondly. “I hope you get that chance.”

Because timing is a bitch, right at that very moment the machine that Tony has been so conveniently putting out of his mind spins up and a blue portal shoots upwards into the sky. Both Loki and Tony flinch, turning to stare at it for a moment.

“If you really mean that, stop this,” Tony says finally. 

Loki looks back at him, torn. “It’s not that simple.”

“Sure it is. I know Selvig designed the machine, but you’re the brains behind the operation. Throw a wrench in the working, whatever you have to do and then come back here and we’ll have a drink.” 

Loki shakes his head, but he looks pained about it, so maybe Tony’s getting through. “You don’t understand, Stark. This isn’t just me; there are some powerful beings behind this.”

The fear in Loki’s eyes takes on a whole new meaning. “You were forced into this?”

Loki growls. “Convinced, persuaded. I’m not a toy, I’m a partner.”

“But you’re afraid of him,” Tony leads.

“Any rational being would be,” Loki scoffs. “He’s more powerful than me, but he isn’t smarter.”

“Ok then, trick him, stop him,” Tony says. 

Loki stares at the portal for a moment obviously thinking quickly. Tony may not be used to waiting for someone else to do the thinking, but he is capable of standing quietly, sometimes. Finally, Loki nods, having made a decision. He moves quickly, thrusting his scepter into Tony’s hands. Knowing what it’s capable of, Tony fumbles for a moment, loath to touch it, but Loki’s hands are resolute.

“In the crystal is one of the six Infinity Stones; it’s called the Mind Stone. The Tesseract is the Space Stone. Without the Mind Stone, Thanos doesn’t have any of them anymore. You’ll likely still need both to beat him,” Loki says, hurrying outside while Tony follows him.

“What do you mean? You’re tricking him, right? Stopping him?” Tony asks. 

“Without the Space Stone, it will take him a long time to get here with any level of force, but that won't stop him,” Loki continues as he steps up to the machine. He deftly maneuvers his way through the touch screen, solidifying Tony’s theory that he was definitely too smart to not pay attention to those working under him. It’s only seconds before the portal is closed again. Tony cheers. 

“So, you’ll be wanting this back?” Tony asks before he considers the fact that he was willing to just hand over a mind control weapon back to an alien invader, well, alien former-invader?

Loki smiles wryly at him, moving forward towards the Tesseract. Loki grabs it and tosses it outside the machine. Tony steps forward to grab it, but Loki shakes his head. A moment later a flash of light bursts from the Tesseract, consuming Loki in a circle of pure blue energy. Before Tony can even step forward, the energy wave dissipates, showing Tony exactly what he had feared. Loki’s gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art can also be found on [tumblr](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/611797873867292672/moar-art-for-my-kingdom-for-a-snake) :D


	4. Chapter Four

Loki can’t say that appearing on The Other’s ship is a surprise, unwelcome, but not a surprise. Loki had hoped that removing the Mind Stone and the Tesseract from his magic and grasp would cut the connection, but they had been able to tap into the Tesseract from afar using Loki’s magic before. It only made sense that Thanos would be able to trigger that again once the portal closed and they knew something had gone awry. Still, he had held some hope that disabling the device would be it and then he could have that drink with Tony. He would love to learn more about his soulmate than just the bare facts that he obtained from Barton. At this point, those events are looking extremely unlikely.

With the Tesseract not connected to a power source, Thanos shouldn’t be able to initiate a transfer again, since the power should have dissipated by now. Unfortunately, Loki hadn’t had time to explain that bit of information to Tony and could not guarantee that the mortals wouldn’t do the same once again. In order to ensure that Thanos would not be able to use Loki’s magic and tap into the Tesseract, he would need to expend it all. Sure, with time and resources, Loki’s magic would come back, but Loki suspected that rest and food would be in short supply in his near future. Still, he wasn’t going to waste an opportunity. Loki gathered up his energy, pulling every last bit of it from himself into a ball of energy. Once he could feel that every ounce of magic he contained was expended, he released it into a great explosion of energy. He laughed as the walls burst around him, not the slightest bit concerned for his own safety. It would be a noble way to die, but Loki was sure he wouldn’t get off so easily.

Once again, it is not a surprise when Loki awakes at the base of a stone throne with a familiar being looking down upon him. Also once again, it’s entirely unwelcome. 

“You have much to answer for, little god. You’ve managed to kill a valuable lieutenant along with all those on his ship,” Thanos rumbled.

“Yes, well, he was very rude. Honestly, I did you a favor. He was a terrible envoy.”

Thanos has no appreciation for good snark, unfortunately, he just continues. “You also managed to not only fail to obtain the Tesseract but to lose the Mind Stone in the process.”

“”Oh yes, your scepter! Now where did I put that? I swear I just had it….” Loki pats his leathers as if he could be hiding a staff somewhere within them. Well, if he had his magic he could have stored it in a pocket dimension, but that was neither here nor there. Then he tuts ruefully. “Oh yes, that’s right I gave it to the mortals. Damn, looks like you’ll have to get that the long way. But I’m sure they won't manage to shore up any defences in the time it takes to get there by ship; I just know they’ll be holding onto it for you until then. Very trustworthy, those mortals.” 

Loki has no magic, no way home, but he does have words. The Other’s promise of him longing for something as sweet as pain rings in his ears. Yes, the Other is gone, but Loki has no doubt that Thanos would have someone else able to fulfil that promise. Loki can only hope to annoy Thanos enough to be killed quickly. 

“Trustworthy, hmmm… unlike you, little…” Thanos looks at Loki’s arm, his tattoo on full display for the first time since he can remember, “snake? Fitting, I suppose.”

“Oh yes, a snake is exactly what I am. Slippery and cunning, but all too willing to bite when confronted. This isn’t going to be like last time. There’s no persuasion that will make this go your way. I’ve already won. The Infinity Stones are out of your hands for now. By the time you marshall the resources to get yourself and an Army to Midgard, they will have been thoroughly warned and had more than enough time to stop whatever you bring. Plus, because of my involvement Asgard is aware of your plot and if Midgard can’t stop you, Odin certainly will.”

“I can just send another to Earth, using your magical link to the Tesseract as before,” Thanos says. 

Loki laughs. “Why don’t you give that a go? I think that you’ll find the well has run dry.”

Thanos squints at him suspiciously, trying to judge if it’s a bluff. He must decide that he believes Loki because he sighs. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

Loki shrugs. “What can I say? The Midgardians grow on you.”

“Does your own life mean so little to you at this point?” Thanos asks, unfortunately, not giving any sign of concern at Loki’s words.

“I doubt you plan to kill me now. So give me enough time and I will find a way to slither out of this. Snake, remember?” Loki grins infuriatingly, or he hopes it’s infuriating enough for Thanos to kill him then.

“Let’s test that, shall we? Maw?” One of Thanos’s ‘children’ steps into the room. Loki pales. Maw has magic and a particular fondness and imagination for causing pain. “Why don’t you keep Loki here occupied. Just until we arrive at Earth and he can see us destroy what he has so recently become fond of. Then, of course, with both Infinity Stones we can move on to Asgard.”

Loki growls at the thought, but can do nothing as Maw’s magic wraps him in tight bands. He struggles, not wanting to appear the least bit cowed, but he knows it’s pointless. Without magic of his own, he can’t fight back. He will just have to set his sights on annoying Maw enough to make him sloppy. Who knows? Maybe he will be able to find a way to get out of this still living and breathing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To check out this art n Tumblr (which, you know you want to) check it out [here](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/613125800431124480/new-chapter-for-my-kingdom-for-a-snake-d)


	5. Chapter Five

Loki’s gone. Tony’s mind keeps playing that over and over again. Loki’s gone, what now? The cynical side of Tony is pretty much, hey, we won, show’s over. Sure, Loki was cryptically warning of a future threat, but they’ve got the magic stones and the other, less chaotic god to help them, they’ll be fine, right? The romantic, emotional side of Tony, the one he buries deep, deep down so no one else knows it exists says no, this can’t be the end of his soulmate encounter. He is not going to let this be his only interaction with Loki. 

First thing’s first, he’s currently in a t-shirt and jeans, and he is not risking his Black Sabbath shirt. So, he hurries back into the tower to put on the bands that he had originally been going for before Loki distracted him.

“Alrighty, JARVIS. Mark VII me,” Tony orders.

“Sir, the Mark VII is not ready for deployment,” JARVIS responds, proving once again who the responsible one is. 

“Then skip the spinning rims; we’re on the clock. Did you not see Loki disappear into the portal? Who knows what kind of time we have?” 

Rather than debate with him some more, JARVIS launched the compact cylinder, which immediately locked in on the bands and opened up to engulf Tony’s body. Oh yes, this was a good one. Practically seamless, way quicker, but Tony didn’t have time to analyze, he had a soulmate to get back. Tony rushed back to the machine. 

Selvig is still on the ground, passed out from Tony’s original failed attempt to stop the portal. Oops. Tony has JARVIS check the scientist’s vitals and is relieved when he reports back that the man is fine, just sleeping off the blow. Tony debates waking the scientist up, he did build the portal-maker after all, but if the blow had knocked Selvig’s mind loose of the Mind Stone like it had Barton’s, Tony is pretty sure he isn’t going to be so willing to help get Loki back. So, Tony is on his own. 

Fortunately, Tony is a genius who has a raven with a keen eye. Tony doesn’t even need to say a word. Roäc immediately begins circling the device, scanning the machinery to determine if there’s anything that Tony needs to be aware of. While the bird does that, Tony busies himself with the display, mostly getting a feel for the interface first. Tony looks up as Roäc squawks. The raven tips his beak towards the Tesseract, still laying abandoned on the ground, then looks pointedly at the middle of the machine that was obviously designed for the Tesseract to be placed in. 

“Yeah, smartass, I’m aware the glowy cube goes in there. But they managed to trigger it on their end twice. I have no idea if it not being connected to an energy source is at all helpful, but I’m not risking anything until I’m ready,” Tony explains aloud, still tapping through the software. 

Speaking of, if he’s going to be opening a portal he needs to be seriously quick about getting Loki and getting back. Tony has no doubt that there are still aliens on the other side just waiting to attack. Really, the ideal scenario would be to have the portal opened just long enough for Tony to go through it and then close until he needed to come back, preferably with Loki. But that would require help. It would take way too much time to interface JARVIS with the device and Tony couldn’t risk going without his suit. He wasn’t able to leave Roäc behind, not that he would. Tony had no idea what had happened to Romanov, Barton and Rogers. Perhaps they’d been called off as soon as the portal had closed. Tony feels like he’d trust Banner, but who knows how long it would take the guy to make it here?

“Loki?” A voice bellows, making Tony grin. 

“Your timing is absolutely impeccable, Point Break!” Tony exclaims. Thor mostly looks at him confused. Yeah, so what else is new?

Fortunately, Tony isn’t being sarcastic in the least. Thor is absolutely the perfect person for this mission. He does want to protect Earth; he’s knowledgeable about spacy technology and while Tony knows there are a lot of issues and anger going on, Thor still loves his brother. Now Tony needed to convey everything in a way that would have Thor agreeing quickly rather than wasting time on questions and convincing. 

“So, yeah, Loki stopped the portal on account of it not really being his idea in the first place and I’m his soulmate, but the bad guy, Thanos, somehow managed to grab him. So I need to restart the portal, but just long enough for me to go through and get Loki and bring him back. So if you can be a doll and turn the portal off after I go through and then give me…. I’m thinking an hour? Yeah, an hour should do it, and fire the guy back up so I can bring Loki back through, that would be swell,” Tony rambles quickly. 

Thor frowns at him. “You are willing to help Loki despite what he’s done?”

“Well sure, he’s my soulmate. I mean, I may not like the guy just yet, but I’ll never have a chance to either if I just let him be captured and likely tortured and probably killed.”

Thor growls at that in a way that Tony actually finds legitimately terrifying. “Ok, explain to me what you need me to do.” Thor says finally, stepping up to the machine and dropping his hammer to the ground. 

“Yes!” Tony pumps his fist in victory and then starts going through what he’s learned so far with Thor. Finally, they’ve gotten it all figured out and they have a plan.

“Ok, time to syncronize our watches!”

“Watches?” Thor asks. Tony senses that he and Thor will never be close. He confuses the Asgardian far too much.

“It’s what they do in the movies… you know what, nevermind. Here,” Tony hands Thor an earpiece and shows him how to place it. “JARVIS once I’m through the portal, signal to Thor to close it and start the timer. Let Thor know when an hour is up. I’ll probably lose connection with you but I’ll start the timer on my end as well.”

“Should I even bother to implore you to be careful, sir?” JARVIS asks wearily. 

“You can, but it’s never stopped me before,” Tony responds cheerily. Far more upbeat than he is actually currently feeling, but putting on a show always makes him feel more in control. 

“Good luck, sir. I will set the reminders as requested.”

“Good luck, Stark. I appreciate what you are doing for my brother and I look forward to celebrating your return.”

Tony just closes his mask and salutes Thor before firing his repulsors and taking off. After a few minutes a beam of blue light burns through the sky near him and opens a whole in the sky through which he can see black space broken up by a few pricks of light. It’s no more than a few seconds before Tony is on the other side. The hole immediately closes behind him and Tony is left all alone. Well, alone with several gigantic alien spaceships and what looks like armored space whales. No problem; he’s got this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To see this amazing art and more head over to [Tumblr](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/614041056901775360/my-kingdom-for-a-snake-got-a-new-chapter)


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I hope this chapter makes up for it!

Maw is unfortunately anything but sloppy. Loki can do little more than scream and writhe, unable to form any thought much less words to combat his torturer. It’s not ideal, to say the least. It certainly doesn’t lend itself well to Loki doing any level of plotting. Eventually, sweet darkness takes him and he wakes up blessedly alone in a cell. At least, that’s what he believes at first. 

Loki comes to slowly, reconnecting with his breath, starting to feel his various limbs. Of course, that part he’d almost rather skip. He hasn’t been healed at all, so it feels like every inch of skin is on fire. Loki quickly realizes there is a small, warm weight on his chest. He is almost afraid to open his eyes and see what kind of gift Maw has left for him, but hiding from the truth has never helped him in the past, so slowly, he opens his eyes a crack. 

His eyes struggle to lock onto that sweet, green face just inches from his nose. The tears blurring his eyes don’t help in the slightest either. 

“Hello,” he croaks tentatively before coughing. 

Jörmungandr’s tongue flicks out to kiss Loki’s nose and he laughs even as the tears spill. Loki’s mind races as to why his snake is appearing, finally, now. It could be because he’s about to die. He doesn’t feel like he’s actually that far gone, but maybe Jörmungandr knows something he doesn’t. Knowing what he’s thinking as usual, Jörmungandr shakes his head. Loki thinks back to his conversation with Thanos. How he unapologetically claimed his snake, not the slightest bit concerned about the titan’s eyes on his tattoo. Yes, that probably has something to do with it. 

“I’m so sorry,” Loki says then. The snake bobs his head before nuzzling up against Loki’s cheekbone. “I screwed everything up. You were right, of course, from the beginning.”

Jörmungandr curls up contentedly on Loki’s chest as he strokes the smooth scales and speaks, crooning apologies and affirmations. “Though, if I had followed your advice I may never have had the opportunity to meet Stark.” 

Jörmungandr gives him an unamused side eye which makes Loki laugh. The laugh carries on for far longer than the look probably merited but it just felt so good to laugh again. The fact that Loki can’t remember the last time he did is a sobering thought. 

“I have no idea how to get out of this. I got rid of my magic, betrayed my allies, lost my family. All I have is you, and while right now that means absolutely everything to me, unless you have a brilliant idea on how we get out of here, this may be it.” Loki looks down at his snake, still curled up and, by all appearances, sleeping contentedly. So, this is a sit and wait endeavor, huh? Well, Loki would have more opportunities to escape once they’d gotten to Earth and Thanos was focused on that. Loki just has to hope that he survives until then. 

A dreadful clanging noise wakes Loki up from his light sleep. He blinks blearily at the red figure at the gate of his cell making the noise. At first, Loki thinks he must be dreaming, but never in his wildest dreams would he imagine that Tony Stark had come for him. Why would he? No one had ever come for him. Accepting his ‘rescue’ from Jotunheim as a babe that he was certain was more self-interest on Odin’s part than altruism, Loki had always been the one to save Thor, had always been the one left behind. Stark barely knows Loki except as an enemy and had only the barest of assurances that they were soulmates. Yet here Stark stands, in a noticeably different set of armour than the one Loki had seen him in before, but no less battered, waving at him to move away from the bars. Loki does so and the gate falls with a few blasts from the armour’s repulsors. 

Stark walks into the cell and releases his mask, beaming at Loki, or rather, beaming at the snake wrapped around Loki’s neck. 

“Tony Stark, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to Jörmungandr,” Loki says formally with a grin. 

“Nice to meet you, Jörmie. Unfortunately, we gotta get out of here quick.”

“No,” Loki growls. 

“No? I’m sorry, did I misunderstand the cell and the bruises? Are you actually an honored guest here and wanting to stay?” Stark asks in disbelief. 

Loki chuckles, “Not at all, but you will not be shortening my animal’s name into such a ridiculous moniker.”

Stark groans. “Seriously? I can’t pronounce your long-ass Norse names. How about Jör?”

Loki looks at his snake who nods benignly so Loki nods at Stark. 

“Great! All settled then! Can we get out of here now? This armour wasn’t exactly designed for stealth and I’ve really had enough of taking out these ugly ass aliens that are all over the place.”

“Hmm… really? The red and gold is so discrete.” Stark just glares at him and Loki grins. “How did you get here anyways? If you came in through the portal there would have been massive warships just waiting for you.”

“Honestly, that part was easy. They weren’t looking for anything as small as me. Plus I think they are all prepping to get the heck out of there. No, it was getting to this damn ship and getting past all the guards everywhere without completely blowing everything up that was a trick. Hey, can your magic make us a little less easily spotted.”

“It’s rather a long story, but I don’t have my magic right now.” Loki admits

“Right now, so you will again, right? Thanos didn’t…” Stark trails off, pausing a moment to press a gauntleted hand, far more lightly than it seems like it should be able to, against the bruise on Loki’s right eye. 

“I will be fine in time,” Loki smiles, taking the hand in his own for a moment, enjoying the promise in the gesture. 

“Well, hopefully you’ve got more fighting skills beyond the magic because company is coming.” Stark says, pulling away and shutting his mask. “I could be all macho and say that I can take them all on my own no sweat, but help would get us out of here quicker.”

“Of course I do,” Loki scoffs, pulling a blade from his boot. 

They each take two Chitari and they are rather easy. It’s not that Thanos’s army isn’t formidable, but it’s mostly in numbers than the individual skill of each soldier. They each move as quietly as possible, but as Stark said, his suit doesn’t move particularly quietly and his weapons aren’t made for stealth, but with so few shots needed, they should be mostly undetected. Still, after the tortures Maw had put him through after blowing himself up, Loki is a bit winded by the end of the fight.

“Damn, that was hot.” Stark leers, and Loki rolls his eyes and just continues walking. 

Since Loki cannot breathe in space and they need to get back to the portal opening when Thor re-establishes it, Loki decides to steal an escape pod. It will set off some alarms, but they should be well out of range by the time Thanos can send anyone after them. Stark rattles off the time left until Thor re-establishes the portal, which isn’t annoying or stressful in the slightest. Still, they get to the right coordinates with a minute to spare. 

Sitting still, just waiting on Thor puts Loki’s back up. He can’t take his eyes off the monitors, just waiting for Thanos to close in on them before the portal opens. Then Stark is counting down: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... Nothing happens. Of course nothing happens. This is Thor; Loki should have learned long ago that Thor would always fail him when it mattered most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sesil's art just keeps getting better and better doesn't it? You can find this pic and more at [Tumblr](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/616162699699683328/a-new-chapter-for-my-kingdom-for-a-snake-is-here)


	7. Chapter Seven

Tony’s heart is beating a mile a minute. Where the hell is Thor? Tony knows that JARVIS couldn’t possibly have dropped the ball, so for some reason Thor ran into trouble. Tony had been so sure that the god would take the stakes seriously, but Loki doesn’t seem nearly as convinced. In fact, Loki is acting as if he shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up in the first place and that just broke Tony’s heart, but there was nothing they could do but wait and hope that Thor opened the portal before they were caught. 

Of course, the spacecraft they can see approaching in the distance doesn’t bode well. Loki’s gripping Tony’s arm to the point where Tony is about to have to intervene because hello godly strength. Worse, though, is the look on Loki’s face, like all the hope and determination that had been there throughout their escape has just fallen from his face like it was never there. Still, Tony can tell from the sharp look in his eyes that hope aside, he is still scheming, the wheels still turning to see if there is a way out of this. 

While Tony knew academically that his soulmate would need to be someone smart, someone who could keep up with him, it was still satisfying to be able to see that at work. His thoughts, too, were going a mile a minute, trying to figure out if his repulsors could take out a ship of that size, if there was a way he could contact JARVIS from here. The ship is just about within range for some test firing when the space next to them starts to ripple. Suddenly a whole gapes open in the blackness and Tony can see the New York skyline. He breathes a sigh of relief and turns to Loki with a grin. 

“Looks like the big guy didn’t let us down after all,” Tony rejoices. Loki just nods hesitantly.

Considering Tony knows jack shit about this escape pod, he’s really hoping it does well enough in Earth’s atmosphere for him to land it on the tower. It’s small enough that control isn’t a factor and fortunately, the portal takes care of the whole entry into the atmosphere problem, but still, he holds his breath. Loki, fortunately, seems unconcerned, so he takes that positively.

Tony sees the issue pretty quickly upon their descent to the tower. Not with the pod, it’s crazy intuitive and flies like a dream, but with Thor. The god appears to be surrounded by people who are revealed as they get closer to be the remaining Avengers. Shit, this isn’t good. Tony is about to show up buddy-buddy with their wannabe conquerer and he’ll have to convince them first that he isn’t mind controlled and then not to immediately arrest Loki. Loki stiffens at his side and Tony can tell the same thoughts are going through his head.

“It doesn’t matter; I’m not letting them take you,” Tony assures him. Loki doesn’t look reassured, instead he is stroking Jör anxiously. He still nods as if he believes Tony, though. No worries, Tony will just have to prove it to him. Easier said than done. 

They land with little trouble, but the pod is immediately surrounded on all sides. Tony looks over at Loki who just shrugs so Tony sighs and pushes open the door. Tony cries out in alarm as Loki is immediately grabbed and hauled out of the pod. Shit! It didn’t take two seconds before he failed the god. But Loki wasn’t grabbed by Rogers or immediately placed in manacles. Instead, he had been pulled into his brother’s arms for the biggest hug Tony has ever seen. 

Loki, showing a disconcerting lack of self-preservation or, at the very least, foresight for how he looked, struggles to be released from his brother’s embrace.

“I may not have my magic, Thor, but I still have enough blades that I can stab you just fine!” Loki growls. 

Thor drops him in surprise. Loki grunts, looking just as pissed off at being dropped as he was at being held. “Don’t have your magic? Why don’t you have your magic?” Thor asks worriedly. 

“Uh, Thor. That’s probably a good thing, remember? He’s the bad guy?” Barton asks, bow drawn and arrow knocked, pointing at Loki. Yeah, shit, Barton is going to be particularly hard to convince. 

Thor shakes his head. “Loki no longer fights against this world, in fact he fought the very entity that sent him here because Stark is his soulmate.”

Now, Tony loves attention, but he can’t say that having five badass superheroes stare at him in suspicion is something he’d like to happen again in the future. Worse, however, is Loki’s uncertain look. Like Tony’s just going to turn on him the minute the other Avengers don’t approve. Well, screw them if they don’t. They’ve been mostly a team for what? 5 minutes? Loki is already far more important than that.

“Yep, soulmates with a god, trippy right?” Tony says with a proud grin. “Loki literally gave up all of his world conquering plans just to have a drink with me. Guess we didn’t need the rest of you.”

Loki huffs a laugh; Thor grins; Natasha squints at him thoughtfully; Bruce looks at Loki consideringly; Clint scowls; Steve just blinks at him as if he couldn’t even process what to say to that. 

“I mean… that’s great!” Steve says weakly, looking back and forth between Loki and Tony, obviously taking note of Loki’s torn sleeve and the obvious snake. “But… there’s a lot he did the last few days that he’s gotta answer for. SHIELD is going to want to take him in. And since he doesn’t have his magic…” 

“You touch him and we’re going to have a problem, Rogers,” Tony hisses. Loki walks to his side, looking unbearably smug. It isn’t the least bit helpful, but hey, Loki is just way too much like him, so Tony understands. 

“SHIELD…” Natasha starts, but Tony holds up his hand. 

“I can handle SHIELD.”

“Are you just going to forget that he killed Coulson?” Steve asks somberly.

Tony looks over at Loki then, feeling extremely guilty that yeah, he kind of had, not quite forgotten Coulson but definitely compartmentalized that among Loki’s various misdeeds. 

“I did kill many of you, and for that I apologize,” Loki says, actually looking chastened. “I’ll admit that in my frame of mind, I didn’t really think of humans as worthy of much consideration. Finding my soulmate among you changed that perspective for me, though I’ll admit, my respect had been growing through my experiences with the rest of you.”

Well, would you look at that? Tony knew that Loki was a talker. He didn’t realize that he was also a really adept flatterer. They might actually get somewhere with this if he could continue on with this kind of speech. 

“But I will not apologize for Agent Coulson,” Loki continues and Tony facepalms. So close. 

Romanov and Barton look like they are about to pounce but Loki continues. “Firstly because he fired on me first which not only hurt, but absolutely could have killed me. Secondly, because he isn’t dead. I stopped him, certainly, but I was rather impressed with his bravado, so I decided to leave him alive.”

Well, that’s interesting. Tony looks at the rest of the Avengers and he’s pretty sure he’s mirroring their surprised faces exactly. Then again, Tony’s not exactly sure why he’s surprised. Fury lies; he does it well and he does it often. If it meant uniting them as a team, getting them to do what he wanted, of course he would lie about Coulson dying. Shit, and they totally fell for it.  _ He _ totally fell for it. Still, this definitely works in his favor. 

“New plan, you guys go check on Coulson and check in with SHIELD. Loki and I will stay here and work on a plan,” Tony suggests. 

Everyone seems pretty ok with this set of circumstances, their priorities shifting perfectly from worry about Loki to Coulson. Well, everybody but Thor. 

“I’ll stay here; I would have words with my brother,” Thor insists.

“Go with the rest of your team. I have nothing to say to you at the moment.” Loki sneers. 

Thor looks hurt and Tony feels for him, but now is probably not the right time for this.

“I actually kind of promised Loki a drink, Point Break,” Tony says as kindly as he can to Thor. The god looks like he’s about to counter so Tony continues with, “the two of us. I promise once we’ve had some alone time you guys can have your brotherly heart to heart.”

Thor still doesn’t look happy but he follows when Bruce pats him on the shoulder and heads to the Quinjet. 

“Try to actually talk through your plan for SHIELD and the rest of it. Don’t just spend your time having sex,” Natasha admonishes. Steve blushes; it’s kind of adorable. 

“Me?” Tony gasps holding his hand to his chest in overblown astonishment. 

Loki snorts. “Even I know of your reputation, it’s not unfounded.”

Still, Loki heads inside with a flirty wink that has Tony thinking that maybe talking isn’t the only thing they should be doing. Wait, his priorities were just questioned. “Just for that, no sex for you!”

Loki snorts again, which, fair, there’s no way Tony is sticking to that for long. Loki is seriously hot. The rest of the Avengers have made themselves scarce amid the sex talk, which is probably for the best. Tony follows Loki inside the tower. Finally, they can have that drink.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to see more awesome Frostiron art? Of course you do! [Tumblr](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/617825308756885504/new-chapter-for-my-kingdom-for-a-snake)


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! I hope you enjoy the conclusion!

Loki’s already sitting on the couch, making himself look completely at home, when Tony walks in after the Avengers have taken off. Tony walks directly over to the bar and pours both of them a glass of scotch before settling himself on the couch with a sigh, passing Loki his glass.

Loki inhales deeply, taking in the scent of the scotch before taking a sip. The liquid is rich and deep on his tongue and he immediately takes a bigger gulp of it. Tony grins proudly at that and Loki’s chest warms. He feels like he’s won a point here and he loves it. Likely sensing the serenity of the moment, their guides appear. Roäc immediately hops over to land on Loki’s shoulder, and Loki immediately rewards the bird with stroking through his feathers. Meanwhile Jörmungandr slithers up Tony’s arm to entwine around his neck. Loki’s delighted to see his snake again and seeing the animal interacting with Tony just heightens that further.

  
  


“Did you ever think that maybe if Jör had been around, we never would have met?” Tony asks, grinning at the snake wrapped around his neck nevertheless.

“That is what I said!” Loki replies smugly.

“But, I mean, they are our animal guides, right? They guide us. He had to know what disappearing would do. He knew that you wouldn’t listen to him anymore anyways, right?” Loki nodded hesitantly, wondering where Tony was going with this. “Maybe there was a chance of us meeting another way early on, but once you got to a certain point, where you would no longer listen, maybe he knew that staying out of it was the only way to get you here. Maybe I was the only one who could call you back from where you had fallen.”

Loki eyes his snake at the words. Jörmungandr gave him the same side-eyed look that he had in the cell earlier, but now, Loki perceived more than annoyance to the look. Maybe a bit of smugness? Norns damn him, Tony is right. Not that Loki is prepared to give him that much credit at the moment

“Think a lot of yourself, do you?” Loki asks, but he can’t help the grin that is threatening to break through his serious look. 

“Billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist soulmate here,” Tony winks. “Of course, I think a lot of myself. I saved the Earth with just the promise that you’d be able to get to know me.”

“Playboy?” 

Tony chuckles. “Jealous type, huh?” Loki glares back at him. “No, I get you. It’s weird, we barely even know one another, but I just have this feeling.”

“Like this is it? What we’ve been waiting for?” Loki finishes for him. 

Tony sighs with relief. “Thank god it’s not just me. Is this what everyone feels when they meet their soulmate?”

Loki shrugs and looks out the window at New York City’s skyline. He feels sudden, overwhelming relief that he hadn’t destroyed something so beautiful. “Something like it, I suppose. Though I doubt many have been through what we have beforehand. Isolation, loneliness, persecution, it has a way of making you appreciate the good things in life.”

Loki startles as a hand drops onto his shoulder. He had been so lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t even heard Tony approach. He turns and Tony has the softest, sweetest look on his face that makes Loki’s breath catch. No one has ever looked at him that way before. Like he was something amazing, something precious. 

“Speaking of good things, I’d really like to kiss you now. I have a feeling that would be beyond good.”

Loki doesn’t respond with words. Words may be his weapons, his comfort, but anything he could say would pale in comparison to the feeling to Tony’s lips on his. It’s Tony’s turn to startle, to gasp into Loki’s mouth. It’s the perfect opportunity for Loki to tilt their lips, to deepen the kiss. Loki groans as Tony’s hand glides up his neck to bury itself in his hair. He responds by twining his tongue around Tony’s own, his hands coming to rest around Tony’s hips. It is far and away the best, most meaningful kiss Loki has ever experienced. He never wants it to end. Unfortunately, human lungs can only manage to do so much and Tony pulls away with a gasp. 

“Yup, so beyond good I couldn’t even have predicted,” Tony says breathlessly. 

Loki laughs, feeling a bit breathless himself. They’ve pulled away slightly, but Loki’s still holding on to Tony’s hips and Tony’s hand is still lightly caressing his neck. With them so close, Roäc on Loki’s shoulder and Jörmungandr are also within touching distance. The snake peeks up and rubs against the raven’s cheek, the animals looking just as pleased as their counterparts. Loki is struck with the most beautiful feeling of rightness. There may be much still to settle, but Loki couldn’t ask for better companions at his side to make sure that everything turned out as it should.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to Rabentochter for proving art for EVERY CHAPTER! At first I just asked for one, because I just so wanted to see Tony and Loki with their tattoos in that lovely style. This was beyond what I could have hoped for! If you'd like to see the last one, and her others, you can see them on Tumblr [Here](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/618574500526784512/final-art-piece-for-my-kingdom-for-a-snake). 
> 
> Thank you all for your lovely comments and support! It always means the world to me!

**Author's Note:**

> You can see Rabentochter's art in all its glory at [ tumblr](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/190917017259/my-kingdom-for-a-snake-an-angst-and-feels-feast)


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